


Clumsy ('Cause I'm Fallin' in Love)

by karfishylicious



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Side Dojae, Side yuwin, implied sex, semi-song fic, taeyong is clumsy in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:15:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22251691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karfishylicious/pseuds/karfishylicious
Summary: Taeyong is clumsy. A romantic at heart, a tease, and oh so clumsy. Maybe he falls in love a little too often, but there's one time it turns out right.
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 11
Kudos: 89





	Clumsy ('Cause I'm Fallin' in Love)

**Author's Note:**

> title (and fic!) inspired by the song Clumsy by Fergie! If you don't know this song, please listen to it because it provides a little context for this fic and I also listened to it on repeat while writing this lol. I was reading something when this song came on and I got the writing bug and ended up with this!! Enjoy!

Taeyong is clumsy. A romantic at heart, a tease, and oh so clumsy. Going into university though, made him realize just how bad it really was. His first trip up was his roommate, Nakamoto Yuta, an exchange student from Japan. The moment Taeyong walked into their bedroom and saw the long red haired man turn to face him after putting some books in his desk, Taeyong fell hard. They hit it off quickly, a shared interest in anime and video games helping them along, and soon Taeyong’s dreams were filled with Yuta. He finally gathers up the courage to confess to Yuta at a party, only to return to their shared dorm broken hearted (turns out Yuta’s Chinese friend that always seems to leave their room with disheveled hair as Taeyong walks in? That’s his boyfriend. How Taeyong didn’t see that, well, he blames it on his one-track heart). Yuta take it in stride, and with the barrier of Taeyong’s crush gone, the pair and Sicheng soon become even closer than before.

♡❣♡

It doesn’t take long for Taeyong’s clumsy heart to fall for another, though. The first class back after break, and the hottest man Taeyong has ever seen walks in and introduces himself as Jung Jaehyun, professor Choi’s TA for the semester. Even though Taeyong was taking the class purely for credits (he had taken the class before in high school but forgot to take the exam so he wasn’t able to skip the college course), he immediately signed up for tutoring sessions with Jaehyun. Taeyong thought he was good at playing dumb, feigning innocence when Jaehyun asks him why he keeps coming to tutoring sessions when he has a 100% in the class. Jaehyun apparently saw right through him however, which is how Taeyong ends up pushed against the empty classroom wall with Jaehyun’s tongue down his throat after a well placed hand and a flirty wink (and another aced test). Him and Jaehyun fuck every now and then, but as soon as Taeyong hints at wanting something more than just a friends-with-benefits type situation, Jaehyun cuts all contact and refuses his tutoring requests. Taeyong aches for a bit longer than he expected, but Yuta and Sicheng are there to cheer him up with Chocolate Cherry ice cream and a binge sesh of Mob Psycho 100.

♡❣♡

Summer arrives, and with summer comes spending the days he’s not working at the pool with Yuta and Sicheng. It’s normally packed on weekends and summer evenings but during the day its relatively quiet, which gives Taeyong the perfect opportunity to ogle at the sexy lifeguard. From talking to him a few times during his breaks, Taeyong has learned that his name is Ten, he’s from Thailand, and he’s definitely into guys. Thus begins Taeyongs quest to get Ten to notice him and his (frankly overwhelming) crush. Sicheng helps him find some flattering swim trunks and some nice sunblock, and Taeyong parks himself for Ten’s whole shift on a lounge chair, red hair pushed back, black sunglasses framing his face and creamy thighs on direct display to the small man in the tall chair across the pool from him. It takes a week or two, but soon enough Ten corners him after his later shift. One thing leads to another, and Taeyong returns to his shared apartment with Yuta with a huge hickey on his neck and a number shoved down the front of his swim trunks. 

Taeyong spends the rest of his summer with Ten, either teasing him at work, netflix and chilling at their places or out on the town together. Summer has to end eventually, and Taeyong says a tearful goodbye to Ten at the airport as he leaves to go back home. They promise to stay in touch, so it doesn’t hurt as much when he checks his phone about six hours later and he finds a selfie of Ten at the Bangkok airport, but Yuta still holds Taeyong that night as he cries once more for the cooling of the weather.

♡❣♡

Taeyong had a resolve this semester.  _ No boys this time around! You need to focus on school! _ With his track record however, eventually that resolve would crumble, and crumble it did as soon as he catches sight of the debate club’s president, Kim Doyoung. Rushing back to the apartment, Taeyong doesn’t even flinch when he sees Yuta and Sicheng jump apart from each other on the couch as he announces he’s going to join the debate club. Sicheng says he’s ridiculous and reminds him of his promise to himself. Taeyong joins it anyways. Adding a club to his already packed schedule was a bit of strain on his sleep, but the time he got to spend with Doyoung was doing wonders for Taeyong’s weak heart. Ten chastises him when they facetime for being such a love sick puppy, but wishes him well in his endeavors when Taeyong gives him puppy dog eyes (in a way proving Ten right). Taeyong refutes that while he did originally join the club solely for Doyoung, his public speaking skills are actually getting better. Ten just smiles and shakes his head, wishing him luck on his upcoming finals and his debate competition. 

Taeyong planned to confess to Doyoung after they had finished their team debate. They both had done wonderfully, sharing notes with each other and refuting the other team’s points bit by bit. Taeyong’s heart was pounding as they announced the results, and when he found out they won their division, the rest of the club yelled in support as the pair walked up to the stage to accept the award. As they walked down though, Taeyong steeled himself and prepared himself to confess, but before he could even get the others name out, a familiar face ran up to Doyoung with flowers in his hand and kissed Doyoung in front of him. Taeyong freezes as they break apart and Jaehyun hands the bouquet to Doyoung, a huge smile on his face. Doyoung turns around to Taeyong and smiles, “introducing” his boyfriend to his debate partner. It’s awkward between Taeyong and Jaehyun, but they smile nervously and shake hands, before Doyoung thanks Taeyong for all his hard work and walks away with Jaehyun’s arm around his shoulders. Ten apologizes but tells Taeyong he told him it wouldn’t turn out well. Sicheng offers a hug and a night of video games. Yuta just smiles sadly, shakes his head, turns on the TV to Haikyuu and opens his arms for Taeyong to fall into.

“I need to stop doing this, Yuta”

“I know, Yong. I also know you can’t help it.”

♡❣♡

The next semester brings in an invitation to join the debate club once more, but after deciding he’d rather not have to see Doyoung and remember he’s dating ghosting-TA Jaehyun every practice, he politely declines. Citing a want to “let loose a bit more this semester,'' Doyoung gives him a small smile and tells Taeyong he wishes him luck, and that a spot is open for him on the team if he ever wants to come back. Taeyong complains about his sudden boredom now to Ten, who suggests he goes to a party.

“That’s vague. What kind of party?”

“Jesus, Tae, I don’t know. A gay bar, a frat party, hell even an underground rap concert. Who cares? Just get out there again, you know we don’t want you holed up in your room for a month like Yuta told me you were after I left.”

Taeyong pouts at that and swears to off Yuta, but Ten just laughs and tells him to make his excuse to Doyoung a reality. That weekend, Taeyong dresses up in skinny black jeans and a flowy silver shirt and waves goodbye to Sicheng and Yuta curled up on the couch as he walks out the door and to a club down the street. He had looked it up and they actually had rap competitions every Saturday at 10, so as soon as Taeyong steps into the place his thin figure is suddenly assaulted by deep bass beats bumping from loudspeakers all over the rooms, and lights flashing all around him as two men on stage relay each other, the crowd going crazy below when one of them makes a good diss. 

Taeyong makes his way to the front and stares up in awe as the two rappers circle each other, each verse as fire as the last. It makes him itch, his old dream of being a rapper himself suddenly re-emerging. Finally, the track ends, yet the shorter of the pair keeps on going on his verse, spitting out bar after bar until finally it seems he’s torn the man to shreds. The crowd screams, and the shorter one raises his arms and grins cockily out into the club, making his heart jump into his throat. Taeyong feels alive, his blood rushing and his heart beating to the thump-thump of the song. As the loser walks off stage, the winner stays on and looks out at the crowd. He asks if anyone wants to challenge him. The world seems to stop, and Taeyong can feel his hand raising up, almost subconsciously. The people around him laugh, calling him  _ pretty boy _ and joking about his unassuming appearance, but the man on stage takes notice. He gives Taeyong a quirk of his eyebrow, but it’s not condescending. He reaches out his hand, and Taeyong takes it, climbing up on stage and grabbing the second mic from the stage attendant.

“Well, show us what you got, handsome.”

Taeyong panics, if only for a second, as the lights shine on him. As soon as the beat starts up again though, a little bit faster paced this time, it all becomes second nature and he starts to rap along, words coming to his mind like magic and flowing out of his mouth like a river. He forgets it’s supposed to be a challenge, and just keeps going. He doesn’t realize he’d been basically venting through rap, his past couple years of heartbreak finally making their way to the surface. The beat slows, and so does Taeyong, finally ending the rap with a pause, and a sigh. It’s quiet for what seems like years. He turns to the other man on stage, about to apologize for taking up the stage, but the crowd suddenly goes wild, the noise almost deafening. Taeyong jumps, and looks out at the sea of people that had formed around the stage, almost double the size of the crowd previously. The man laughs to himself, seemingly in shock, and walks over to pat Taeyong on the back.

“That, my friend, is what’s called talent.”

The rest of the night seems to pass by in a blur. The man on stage, whose name Taeyong learns soon after is Mark Lee, underground rapper and trainee under a big entertainment company, takes him into the back where it’s quieter and expresses his shock at Taeyong’s performance, and an even greater shock when Taeyong informs him he’s just a business major in college. He leaves for his apartment with a phone number, a new friend, and an “in” to his dream career.

At first, Taeyong thought what he had been feeling was love. Hanging out with Mark all the time, practicing and writing songs together after classes, had Taeyong feeling some kind of way. What kind of way, though, he didn’t know.

“Maybe you just really like being friends with him, Tae. That’s normal, you know. Every emotion you feel, it doesn’t have to just be love.”

Taeyong sometimes gets annoyed at how insightful Sicheng really is, but this time, he takes it into consideration. Maybe he really has overdosed on love. Maybe it’s time he had just a friend, and nothing more, for once.

But as much as Taeyong wants to have a break, the heart wants what the heart wants. The boy can’t help it.

♡❣♡

Taeyong meets Johnny Suh at a party at Mark’s place at the beginning of summer. As soon as the tall, dark haired man walks into the room, it seems like the world slows down, and all Taeyong can see is him. He doesn’t realize he’s staring until Mark accidentally nudges him with his elbow as he gets up to hug the man.

“Johnny! What’s up dude, It’s been a while!” Mark’s arms wrap around Johnny’s broad torso, and Taeyong is shocked at the little jolt of jealousy that shoots through him.

“Taeyong, this is my friend Johnny Suh. He’s from Chicago, but he’s been living here for awhile for school. He’s a second year photography major!” Johnny smiles and reaches out a large hand to Taeyong.

“It’s really nice to meet you, Taeyong! You wouldn’t believe how much Mark talks about you,” Taeyong’s eyes widen and he gives Mark a look, but Johnny just laughs (and oh dear god his laugh is so warm can’t Taeyong just record it and play it while he sleeps-) “All good things, I promise! So, care to tell me about you yourself?”

They end up talking for most of the party, oblivious to the party going on around them as they laugh at each others jokes and share stories. Mark interrupts them every now and again to join in on the conversation, but it’s mainly just the pair for the rest of the night. They don’t even notice as it starts to wind down and people leave, and Mark, Taeyong and Johnny are the last ones in the apartment.

“Hey, I hate to break up your little bubble but it’s gettin’ pretty late, and Yong still has to get up early tomorrow, right?” Mark pops in, a small, knowing grin on his face.

“Oh, for the audition? If I can get out of this shoot tomorrow I might be able to come and support you!” Johnny smiles and Taeyong’s heart jumps into his chest.

“That’d be great, Johnny, thank you!” 

“Wait, here, have my number so I can let you know when I’m on my way there, ok?” Johnny pulls out a pen from his pocket and tears off a piece of paper from a notebook on Mark’s coffee table, quickly writing down his number and handing it to Taeyong before standing up.

“Thanks for having me over Mark, and again, Taeyong, it was really nice talking to you.” There’s something in his voice that Taeyong can’t place, but before he knows it Johnny is waving at him and Mark and is out the door, leaving the duo alone in the quiet apartment.

Taeyong facetimes Ten as soon as he gets home, and as soon as the screen turns from black to a fuzzy image of Ten laying in his bed at home, the Thai man sighs and smiles softly.

“What’s his name?”

♡❣♡

The audition goes great, and as soon as Taeyong gets off the phone with Ten telling him the news, Mark walks into the building with Johnny in tow. As he tells them both that he’s now a Neo trainee, the pair both hug him tightly and Taeyong feels complete. Johnny, being the gentleman that his is, offers to take them both out to celebrate and Taeyong, being the lovesick puppy that he is, agrees. The trio pile into Johnny’s car and make their way to Taeyong’s favorite pastry shop. Taeyong expresses his surprise, prompting Johnny to remind him that he mentioned it last night and Johnny figured it’d be a nice surprise. Johnny buys Taeyong a strawberry cream bun and a small loaf of Castella, and Taeyong thinks this is the hardest he’s ever fallen for someone.

It’s only a week and a half before Taeyong ends up kissing him. The pair had grown extremely close in that time, spending almost all of their free time together and making Yuta corner him one morning demanding an explanation as to where he was all the time. They were sitting together on Johnny’s couch, watching some random KBS drama Johnny had recommended when Taeyong is caught staring at Johnny’s lips. Johnny simply quirks an eyebrow, gives him a smirk, and that’s enough for Taeyong to throw caution out the window and lean up to kiss him. It’s not an exaggeration to say it was the best kiss Taeyong had ever had. The kiss quickly evolved into Johnny pressing Taeyong down onto the couch and sliding his hands down his pants, and with the whisper of Johnny’s name on Taeyong’s lips as he climaxes, Taeyong’s fate is sealed once more.

Johnny is still ever the gentleman, just in public at least. Their dates squeezed in between Taeyong’s training at Neo Entertainment and Johnny’s internship at a modeling agency always seemed to end one way, not that Taeyong was complaining in any way. As the weather and season grew to its peak however, anxiety started to nibble at the corners of his rose colored lenses. Memories of last summer, of Jaehyun and Doyoung and all his hopeless High School crushes flood back one after another, drowning Taeyong until he’s struggling to stay afloat. What if Johnny will leave him once school starts again? What if this is all just a summer fling? What if, what if, what if… 

Taeyong was laying in bed with a blanket wrapped around him like a blanket, staring at the messages Johnny had left him with tears in his eyes, trying to soothe his heart, telling him it was for the best so Johnny wouldn’t hurt it later on (it wasn’t really working). Both Yuta and Sicheng had tried to motivate Taeyong out of his room, but the only time he left anymore was to go to practice. Mark and his other fellow trainees, Taeil and Kun had taken a notice to the usually cheery man’s change of mood, and tried to convince him to take a couple days off, but Taeyong refused, throwing himself into practice even more. Which is where he is now, alone at the building late at night, doing the same choreo over and over until he couldn’t remember which way was left or right. Slumping down onto the ground, Taeyong stares out at the window into the night beyond. It was raining. There were a couple lights flickering off across the street, reminding Taeyong of how late it was. 

Sighing, he unplugs his phone from the speakers, grabs his bag and leaves the practice room. Stepping out into the rain he groans, the heavy droplets splattering onto his hair and clothes, drenching him almost instantly. He turns to go home, but all of a sudden he stumbles on a slippery, uneven part of the sidewalk and trips, letting out a noise of surprise as he nears the ground and closes his eyes tightly. After a few seconds though, Taeyong hadn’t felt his body hit the rough pavement and he opens his eyes to a familiar shadow looming over him.

“You had me worried there for a second, Yong. Just accepting your fate, huh?”

The warm voice chuckles and Taeyong feels tears spring into his eyes. He’s quickly lifted up again and lead to a small sheltered outcropping where Taeyong is finally able to clearly see Johnny’s drenched face, a sad smile spreading across it. Unable to stop himself, he crashes into Johnny, gripping his wet shirt and making it even wetter with his tears.

“W- Hey, Yongie, baby!” Johnny’s large arms wrap protectively around Taeyongs small, shivering body and his heart, which had slowly started to build itself back up again was quickly melted away as they embraced. Taeyong spills everything, right then and there, about his fears, his exes and crushes, his clumsiness, and finally, his love for Johnny.

“I-I’ve really never felt like this before, a-and I didn’t want to get h-hurt even more than before but… I guess I did that to myself huh?” Taeyong laughs, but its dark and he looks down, ashamed. Johnny’s hand comes up and presses itself against Taeyong’s wet cheek, wiping away his tears and moving down to his jaw to make him look at Johnny.

“Oh, Taeyong. I promise, this isn’t just some summer fling, or friends with benefits kind of deal. I… I love you Taeyong. Ever since I walked into that room at Marks party I knew it would be you. You don’t have to be clumsy anymore, Taeyong. Not when I can be there to catch you.”

Taeyong looks up at Johnny, and his heart swells as the light shines on his tear-stained face, barely noticeable through the rain and realizes Johnny really is it. Taeyong’s hands release from his shirt and reach up to grab Johnny’s head instead, pulling him down to kiss him, and something in Taeyongs soul feels whole again. They stay glued to each other for what feels like hours, and honestly it could have been, until they finally break apart, rain falling down even harder, yet Taeyong can’t even feel it as he sees Johnny smile down at him.

“Come on, clumsy boy. Let’s go home.”

♡❣♡

_ “You got me trippin’, stumblin’, slippin’, fumblin’, clumsy ‘cause I’m falling in love” _

_ “So in love with you” _

**Author's Note:**

> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/ateeseo)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/ltybf)  
> come talk to me on twitter and learn about my other fic ideas in the process!!
> 
> huge thanks to my bro L for motivating me to write this to it's completion, love u <3  
> honestly it wasn't supposed to be this long but thank you for reading!


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